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Four men are in custody, each charged with felony murder and robbery, in the death of a 69 year old Michigan City man. Michigan City Police say 20 year old Ryan A. Phelps, 18 year old Melvin Joseph Basford, and two Michigan City teens aged 16 and 17, have each been individually charged with murder, felony murder, and felony robbery, after a judge found probable cause during a hearing this morning in LaPorte County Superior Court. Police says Gerald Peters was discovered dead in his home, just after 11 Thursday morning, during a welfare check on the 300^th block of Walker Street, and that there were obvious signs that a crime had been committed. An investigation revealed Peters vehicle was missing, and was later located that afternoon, being driven by the 17 year old suspect, who reportedly lost control of the victim's vehicle and crashed in the area of Porter and Holiday Street, around 2:30 that same day. The suspect fled but was quickly apprehended, and after questioning the teen, leads were followed to locate the the other suspects, who eventually were taken into custody for questioning. Authorities encourage anyone with information regarding this incident to call the Michigan City Police Department.

(Photos Courtesy of the Michigan City Police Department)

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